Missing Piece
by ChiiRyeeBiee
Summary: Sixteen year old Ash Ketchum planned to retravel all five regions to search for something that may complete him. Seventeen year old Gary Oak had everything except a best friend; so when he finally had the chance to save their relationship, he took it. Little did they both know that Ash's "missing piece" wasn't that far, and what Gary felt for Ash was more than what he thought.
1. Starting All Over Again

**Greetings. ChiiRyeeBiee here. This story here is my freaking first baby! I remember coming home from school to write it and getting ideas in the middle of class, and I pretty much explored every corner of my brain to come up with a plot. I'll trial this post, since I feel uncomfortable about its errors and writing style, but ehh... I never did finish it, but I could, that is if I start editing it again. I'll never know what's wrong until I share it huh? I still have doubts about it, so please be kind and message me about any ideas or error corrections! :) I wanna continue nurturing this here, hehehe... It's quite descriptive, and there's a battle scene, so I'm really sorry if it's boring and weird. Hope that doesn't discourage you or anything...**

**Given that I do finish this story: it'll be quite long, so bear with me. I'm not very committed when it comes to finishing projects, but if it's well liked, I'll try. Hehehe. Anyways, as already known (or maybe not), I'm a PalletShipping freak, so this is a Yaoi story. I don't have any claims on Pokémon. With all of that said, I hope you enjoy reading this and please please please review! XD**

* * *

**Missing Piece **

Palletshipping; told in alternating viewpoints.

**Summary:** Sixteen (turning seventeen) year old Ash Ketchum was supposed to become a Pokémon Master; but along the way his original goal had changed, since there was always "something missing" from him as he worked towards his goal. Now he was trying to search for it; this "missing piece" that may complete him.

Seventeen year old Gary Oak had everything he wanted: two great careers, a good reputation and his extremely irresistible looks. But what he didn't have was the special best friend he used to have. So when he finally had the chance and to repair their broken relationship, he took it.

Little did Ash know that his "missing piece" wasn't really that far, and little did Gary know that what he felt towards Ash was more than what he thought.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Missing Piece

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

_"You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need the song inside of me. I need to find you. I gotta find you."_

_-Joe Jonas_

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Chapter One - Starting All Over Again (Ash's Point of View)

******o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

The past repeated itself.

The past repeated itself, or so they said.

Who would have known that I would repeat the past that I already had, and repeat it on purpose? Certainly not me, of course. But unless you were really keen for something special to happen or you wanted to remember the memories that meant so dear to you, then yes, you would want to relive your past once again, even if you could never replicate the same events your good memories were based upon or rewind to where you were back then just so you could change the mistakes you have done. What has happened in my past will stay the way it is, and yet I was able to relive it, the way I never expected it to be relived.

I, Ash Ketchum, was no Pokémon master. I have spent the previous six years of my life aiming for this one true goal, travelling to places I never even believed I would visit as a child. Yes, you could say I'd been everywhere - I've travelled around Kanto and Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh; I've even travelled around Unova and competed in every Pokémon League Tournament across all five regions. I'd been training Pokémon for as long as I have remembered, and of course I enjoyed making a variety of new friends. But the day I was up for competition in the Vertress Conference Tournament, I realized something. No matter how hard I tried to become the best by winning battles and competing in a few Pokémon contests, there was something - I didn't know what - that always felt missing inside.

I was able to bond with my friends and Pokémon respectively, and even though I hadn't won every competition I've entered, I still competed. What else could be missing in my life?

Could it be that something felt missing inside me because I needed to win every Pokémon League Tournament? Or maybe I had to make newer Pokémon friends, and form bonds with them all?

Whatever it was, something was missing and it left me discontented and empty. And so, I repeated my Pokémon journey once again, in search for that missing piece I so greatly longed for.

Ten months ago I left Pallet Town on my own in hopes of retravelling every single region that I have visited so far. I decided to start at the Kanto region since I was obviously already in it and it IS my home region. It just seemed convenient at the time - starting another Pokémon journey where your home was. You could somehow feel a little reassured, knowing that you were never really that far from where you came from.

I've earned seven badges so far, and I've made friends with new Pokémon I haven't encountered well enough back when I was ten years old. I even got the chance to rebattle Brock and Misty at the Pewter and Cerulean Gym, and I've got to say, they put up a really good fight. Alongside me in the same journey were my best buddies Pikachu and Bulbasaur of course, my new buddies Vaporeon and Haunter, Chansey, and lastly my old pal Charizard. Together through thick and thin during the past ten months, we've stuck by each other, winning battles and getting stronger every day. I really had to thank my Pokémon; it was because of them that I'd gotten so far once again, nearing the battle for my eighth and final badge. It was because of them that I could continue to become the very best I can be, but moreover, they have allowed me and accompanied me to go on this long and hard search for the part of me that was missing in my life.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

That had been my story thus far. Corny right? Like, what kind of sixteen year old goes on a search for '_something missing'_? I didn't even know what it was! But for some reason, my gut feeling kept telling me to find it, whatever IT was. If you were me, I don't think you could have been able to ignore something that has been bothering you day and night. Mom even said to me the day I left that I've been travelling far too long for her liking. Six years - now that was a really long time. I've only had a few month-long breaks at Pallet here and there, but after a while I'd be on the road again, with Pikachu and five other Pokémon friends, unknowingly working harder to achieve the goals I'd set for myself.

I guess I'd settle down once I've found what I was looking for. I've always liked travelling, so it may have been hard for me to find somewhere to stay. I never could stay at the same place for too long; it was probably always my nature to explore the big wide world. Maybe somewhere in the future, I'd find the perfect place to stay. A place close to home, preferably. If I ever stopped travelling.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

I'd just arrived in Viridian City a few hours ago from Pallet Town. It may have been a little cliché for me to say it but it's just as I remembered, with the afternoon August summer sun shining beautifully all over the city, blazing strongly through the leaves of the many deciduous trees around. It was a perfect day to have an epic Pokémon battle - nothing was going to stop me from earning a badge I so greatly deserved. I took a ferry from Cinnabar to Pallet Town, stopped by at home for about two days (Mom wanted me to stay a little longer - she missed me too much) and went on the road to Viridian. I was currently staying at the Viridian Pokémon Center, resting up with Pikachu and my other Pokémon before we could start warming up for our long-awaited battle in the Viridian Gym.

While I waited rather prissily, I was wondering to myself who the gym leader was. The last time I challenged the Viridian City Gym, I didn't even meet the gym leader since Team Rocket were the ones I battled for the Earth Badge. I'd been asking some of the people on the way to the center and they looked at me with a face that spelled _"I can't believe you don't know the Viridian City Gym Leader"._ I've even been looking in travel guides and pamphlets but nothing. Guess I'd just have to find out once I finished waiting for my Pokémon buddies to be ready to move again.

When Pikachu and the others were done resting up, we all proceeded to the direction of the Viridian Gym. Pikachu was sitting contentedly on my shoulder, holding on tightly as I jogged towards my destination. I came to a soft halt when the gym was finally in sight, taking my time to gaze upon the black-coloured cemented walls, which looked both smooth and shiny from where I was standing. Splashes of red and black were evident, and there was a contrast of red and blue neon lights travelling around the edges of the walls, lit brightly even though it was still around two o'clock pm. The cloudy white pillars I'd seen in the past were now coated with a raven black, the colour of my hair.

Oddly enough the colours of the gym reminded me of... me. Black and red - they'd always been my favourite colors. I wondered why and when this gym was modified. I really needed to keep up with Pokémon News more often.

The entrance was still as large as I remembered, but it was glazed over with crimson paint and there were no guards to scare the life out of me.

"It's now or never, right Pikachu?"

My yellow buddy looked at me and nodded in agreement. "Pika-pi!"

Boldly I tried to push the crimson doors inward, but before I could even touch the steelness of it, it opened rather unwelcoming on its own, making a whirring sound as it moved.

The gym had automatic doors. Of course. I had to remind myself that a lot of things must have changed in this building during a time span of six years.

Trudging inside the chilly gym, I could see an abundance of blue neon lights and darkness. Everything about the gym screamed _'creepy'_. There were windows, but they were tinted black. The outside of the gym was also black. And inside, black and blue. More and more black. Was the gym a _Ghost-type gym?_

"Hello? Excuse me? I'm here to challenge the Viridian City Gym Leader!" I yelled uncomfortably in the blue darkness. It was the afternoon for goodness sake, how could a building be so damn dark? However old I was, I was starting to get scared of where I was in. I could feel Pikachu shivering beside me, his electric sparks audible in the inescapable silence. Suddenly, the lights flicked open, illuminating the darkness that consumed the room.

The room definitely looked better with the lights on. The place looked sophisticated and I could finally see the battlefield, glowing out an aquamarine colour as neon lights were bordered around it._ A much better environment,_ I thought in my head. I was surprised those lights didn't break during battle, otherwise they wouldn't be there.

For some reason, a type of dancy music started playing around the room. It was then that Pikachu jumped off my shoulder to inspect his surroundings. He kept looking around for any dangers or suspicious activities.

"Pika-chuu! Pika-pi-pi-pi!" Pikachu pointed at the ceiling. Something was falling from above - was it glittery confetti? It showered on me like the drift of snowflakes in the winter.

While I paid attention to the extremely weird welcoming, I didn't notice that someone was standing behind me. I just felt soft hands covering my eyes, making me unable to see.

"Guess who?" A familiar male voice whispered in my ear.

"Hey! What are you-? Who are you?" I screeched disapprovingly, putting my hands on top of the person's hands to take them out of my eyes.

_That voice... I knew it, but I didn't know it... I've heard it before of course. The voice of an irritating person..._

I could also smell the stranger's distinctive scent, lingering unknowingly in the air.

_It smelled like vanilla..._

The weird thing was I only knew one person who actually loved vanilla enough to smell like it.

"Gary?" I questioned reluctantly. If it was Gary, why was he here in the Viridian Gym? Unless... Was he really...?

"I knew you'd be able to tell. You know me too well." The guy answered nonchalantly.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

I squirmed away from the older boy's presence, initiating a self-defence stance and going all commando. Chocolate locks and pale skin hit my vision after previously being sight deprived, feeling terribly unamused.

Gary was wearing a white lab coat and a black and red attire with the same shade as that of the outside of the gym. His spiky chocolate hair looked as stylish as always, and his green eyes sparkled even under the indoor lights.

The brunette blinked twice at my sudden reaction. "Woah there, Ashy. It's just me."

Just HIM. I shivered inwardly at the still lingering warmth on my eyelids from his hands.

"You scared me! Why'd you sneak up behind me like that? You could've been an assassin and I wouldn't know!"

He chuckled at me mockingly. "Well it's a good thing I'm not an assassin. You should be more careful yourself, world's future Pokémon Master. Your ability to detect presences is lacking."

The nerve of him-! How dare he insult me!?

"Why you-! Shut up, you big jerk! Eat bricks, Gary Oak!"

"Alright, alright. Ash, I'm sorry, okay? Now please, drop the foul aura. I just wanted to welcome you in, that's all..." The emerald-eyed boy sighed deeply, slouching and running his fingers through spiky hair.

Gary Oak said sorry and please? THE GARY OAK? What kind of trick was this?

"What have you done to the real Gary? Not that I care, but the Gary I know would never say those 'magic' words because he's supposedly so 'superior'!" I chipped in, emphasis on the last word. I came to the Viridian Gym to earn my eighth badge, not this!

"Very funny, Ash. Very funny. But the 'real Gary' you speak of is here in front of you. Things change you know."

I crossed my arms in annoyance. "Hmph. The world with two Garys would mean the end of it anyway..."

Once all conflict has ceased to a minimum, Pikachu jumped at Gary excitedly, nuzzling into the brunette's face as the brunette picked him up. It really surprised me since Pikachu wasn't that friendly with anyone besides me.

"Hey, Pikachu. Long time no see aye? I'm sorry about earlier, okay? I didn't mean to make Ash angry. Eevee's in my lab. Hey Eevee! Pikachu's here!" Gary called out to the direction of the door at the other side of the battlefield while he patted Pikachu happily.

Once Eevee emerged from the door excitedly, the emerald-eyed boy let Pikachu down so that he could play with her. Our two Pokémon friends looked like they were having fun - it was evident that they really liked each other's company. They skipped off towards the so called 'door-to-the-lab' to play who knows where.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked rather rudely. I was still annoyed at the fact that he insulted me the minute I walked into the building and met him.

The older boy couldn't really be the gym leader right? He was supposed to be _in Sinnoh_. And he was _supposed to be a Pokémon Researcher, _not a_ gym leader. _Right?

"Are you really that much of an idiot? You're looking at the current gym leader of the Viridian City, thank you very much." The said gym leader bragged.

"Jerk! Since when were YOU a gym leader? I thought you were in Sinnoh and a Pokémon Researcher, not in Kanto and an official gym leader. Let alone the Viridian City Gym Leader! That position's known to be the best in all of Kanto. The type of person who gave you that honorable position must have been affected by an Exploud's Supersonic."

I was really taken aback and infuriated at the fact that Gary was so famous and successful. Of course I'd overreact a little. I didn't even know, and he was a jerk. If I composed my own dictionary, the word 'jerk' would be a picture of him.

I saw him twitch in annoyance at my comment, but being the jerk he was he recovered completely. "Please Ash, no more of this conflict. You're being childish."

"Well I'm sorry for being so childish! You mocked me! Of course I'd be angry!"

"I want to make things right, okay? No more fighting. Please. Can't we just be friends?"

It was about time we stopped hating each other. That was what I thought, anyway. It has been eleven years since our stupid rivalry began. We were kind of friends, but only slightly, back when we parted ways at Johto and met each other a few times at Sinnoh. To be honest, I didn't even exactly hate the emerald-eyed boy. I just resented the fact that he insulted me. I was sensitive and over-critical with everything he said about me, though I had no idea why.

"Okay..." I dismissed in a defeated tone. He held his hand out for me to shake, which I took unwillingly.

"Anyway, where was I? You asked me how I was a gym leader didn't you?" The older boy tried to confirm. I nodded at him, more friendly this time.

"I accepted the gym leader position last year - You were in Unova at the time. I wanted to settle down near home, since staying in Sinnoh was a bit too far for my liking. And yes, I'm still a Pokémon Researcher. I just missed battling a lot, and Gramps told me there was an open position for a gym leader in Viridian so I accepted it. It's actually quite convenient for me since I get very few challengers; it gives me more time for my research."

"Oh."

That was the only thing I could say at the moment. To be honest, I thought Gary was really industrious with his work. It was impressive; how someone could take on three known positions at the same time: Professor Oak's grandson (he was born that way, so it wasn't much of a surprise), a Pokémon Researcher and the Viridian City Gym Leader. And yes, you could say I was 'slightly' jealous of him. JUST slightly.

"Uuuh, what's with the confetti? Do you always shower your challengers with so much glitter?" I blurted out in a confused manner, remembering that I was basically covered with the rainbow-coloured stuff.

The older boy chuckled at my remark. Did I look and sound that stupid?

"Hahaha. Did you like my attempt in welcoming you into my gym? I wanted to surprise you about my becoming a gym leader so I told everyone in the city, including Gramps and your mom not to tell you that I was the gym leader of Viridian. I wanted to wait for you to come here and shock you, and I guess I did."

"Tch. You're as arrogant and boastful as always, aren't you Gary? Pulling up a stunt like that, just so you could brag about being so AWESOME." I frowned, not pleased at all.

Seriously, he was still tormenting me after all this time. I just didn't understand why.

"No! You got it all wrong. I'm not bragging or anything - I just wanted to surprise you, that's all. Aren't you happy for me?"

"No."

Great, I couldn't believe he surpassed me ONCE again and became one step AHEAD of me, like always. That guy would never let me see the spotlight.

"Aww, why not? We're friends now, aren't we, Ash? Plus, you know that you're way better than me. Having competed in five different leagues, travelling constantly across five different regions - hah! - and you're doing it again! Now that's AWESOME. Me, I'm just staying here, researching and battling. Nothing special compared to you." He cooed, putting his hands on my shoulders and piercing those emerald orbs deep into my chocolate ones.

What a suck up. Since when was THE Gary Oak even ABLE to suck up to people? Let alone suck up to me, of all people? Tch.

I guess we were kind of 'friends' at the moment, but the sarcasm in his words were so obvious he didn't even need to say it sarcastically. Either that or he was trying to be nice to me. But Gary Oak being nice? I didn't think that could be possible, not in a million years.

I tried to change the subject and decided not to talk about it anymore.

"Uuuh, I like the appearance of your gym. So techno-looking and mysterious. Since when did you like black and red as well? I always thought if you had a gym you'd make it your favourite colour - indigo..."

My so called childhood rival flashed me another one of those smirks that I was used to seeing already.

"I still like indigo of course, I just thought, why not use black and red instead? Hah, I'm glad you like it. I wanted it to remind me of you; the black and red I mean."

"Okaay...?" I replied bluntly.

What an embarrassing thing to say. Gary actually thought about me? This guy was trying to flatter me and it wasn't very nice.

"Anyway, how'd you know I was travelling again? Did you hear from Professor Oak or something?"

"You guessed it. Oh, I've been waiting so long to finally battle you again! I take it that you're ready to battle for your eighth badge? Seeing as how you're here and all. You wanna battle now or eat first?"

I grinned. Finally, he was talking about my eighth gym battle! Things were gonna get interesting...! I then shook off all the remaining confetti on me, letting them fall onto the floor.

"I thought you'd never ask! I already ate sooo, let's battle!"

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

"Okay! You've heard all the rules all before! This is going to be an official three-on-three Pokémon gym battle! I'm not allowed to switch Pokémon, but you are! You ready, Ashy-boy?" the older boy dictated from the other side of the battlefield.

The excitement welled up in my stomach, feeling ready as ever. I just loved Pokémon battles...

_Wait... Did he just call me Ashy-boy again? Oh come on! _That nickname was so overrated! If he called me that one more time, I swear he'd pay the price.

"DON'T CALL ME ASHY-BOY! But yes, I am so ready! Prepare to lose, Gary!" I yelled back.

I already beat him once before, and he was previously trying to suck up to me so, this battle was gonna be easy.

Or so I hoped...

"No way, Ashy! We may be friends but I definitely won't go easy on you!" The emerald-eyed boy snapped at me, his arrogant personality striking once again.

"Wish me luck, Pikachu!" I winked at my yellow mouse friend who returned with Eevee to watch our battle. Eevee sat next to him comfortably, cheering on for her trainer who I was about to defeat.

"Pi-pi-kachu!" He grinned, throwing another one of his signature peace signs in the air.

_Hmm, let's see... _Gary used all types of Pokémon, including his Blastoise and Arcanine and Nidoking... _Which one would he choose first, I wonder?_

Throwing his first Pokéball, Gary beamed, "The first match is on! Arcanine! I choose you!"

A fiery orange and white dog Pokémon emerged from the red light emitted by the thrown Pokéball.

"Arr-arr!" he barked actively, his coal-coloured eyes burning with the readiness to attack. Arcanine's coat was gleaming and shiny, indicating he was being well taken care of. As expected from the perfectionist-of-a-trainer nonetheless...

"A water-type Pokémon has the advantage over a fire-type! Vaporeon, do your best!"

My buddy Vaporeon looked so happy that I chose her for the first match. She pulled a backflip before landing on the glowing battlefield with the same determination to win as Arcanine.

"Impressive Vaporeon. I could see you've been training her really well with her speed and agility. Let's see if she does well in battle! Arcanine go! Try a Take Down attack!" the Pokémon Researcher called out quickly.

Arcanine jumped off from his previous position and sprinted speedily towards Vaporeon.

"Vaporeon dodge it and use Scald!"

Before Arcanine could use his Take Down attack on Vaporeon, she gracefully made a long leap and landed behind the dog Pokémon, using the attack I told her to use. She opened her mouth to release a powerful jet of water, which eventually seared Arcanine's fur from the back. Arcanine yelped sadly in pain.

"Oh! Arcanine! Are you okay buddy?" responded Gary, worried.

"Arr-arr!"

"Sorry, pal. But hey! Let's attack back! Hit Vaporeon with another Take Down!"

"Vaporeon, dodge and use Scald once again!"

"Don't let her hit you again Arcanine! Dodge her attacks! You can do it!"

The two Pokémon moved quickly with our commands, dodging each other's attacks and firing their own. At that rate, I was afraid that I've been wasting Vaporeon's energy.

"Vaporeon! Withdraw far from Arcanine! We have to conserve your energy for your attack moves!"

"Vaporeee!" My water Pokémon replied, agreeing.

Vaporeon leaped up again, trying to get away from the fiery dog by moving back without losing her eyes on him. Arcanine continued to use Take Down, aggressively jolting towards my mermaid-like Pokémon in an attempt to give her a hit.

_Come on, Ash. You need a strategy. What was the brunette up to...?_

"Now Arcanine, while her guard is down from moving back! Jump and use Flame Wheel!"

"Counter it with Ice Beam, Vaporeon!"

Arcanine let out an incredible flaming inferno from his mouth, targetting Vaporeon as she moved. My Pokémon allowed a freezing beam to wham directly at the fire, causing ice to melt which poured down on the battlefield as pure water.

_Okay, so the field was now wet. Harder for Arcanine to run but easier for Vaporeon to glide across. Nice._

"Arcanine, watch out for your surroundings! It would be harder for you to move, now that the ground is wet! Wait... Try to dry the water up! Aim a Fire Blast at Vaporeon!"

Another flame from Arcanine was shot directly at Vaporeon. The Eeveelution was still tired from the Ice Beam attack, but the water in the field would make it easier for her to move.

"Vaporeon, glide across the floor to dodge the attack! Use Hydro Pump to finish up that Arcanine!"

Vaporeon did as she was told; she moved away from the Fire Blast attack then leaped up high into the air once more, curling herself into a water ball that was aiming to hit the fire-type.

"Arcanine no! Try to dodge it!"

"Arr-arr!"

Unfortunately for Gary, Vaporeon was too fast as she succesfully hit Arcanine with her beautiful water attack. She landed on the ground gracefully as usual, purring proudly with her achievement.

Arcanine on the other hand was too weak to stand up and sadly fainted on the ground, exhausted.

"Yes! Nice job Vaporeon!" I ran to my water-type and patted her head joyfully.

"Vaporeee!" She cried back, smiling at me contentedly.

"Hey, Gary, is Arcanine okay?" I could see him, patting his fire-type happily, proud of the battle he just fought.

"Yeah! Arcanine's fine! Don't worry about him Ash! Congratulations!" He replied, returning the said Pokémon to his respective Pokéball.

"Pika-chuu-pii!" Pikachu echoed from the sidelines. He looked as happy as me, having Vaporeon win against the arrogant gym leader's Arcanine.

"Vaporeeee!" Vaporeon squealed in a gleeful manner.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

"Nice battling Ash! Your Vaporeon is incredible! But let's see you beat my next Pokémon! Let the second match begin! Electivire, make me proud, buddy!"

A large, black and yellow monkey-like Pokémon took its ground on the battlefield, its red eyes so intimidating it would cause a Pidgey to faint just by looking into them.

"Electivire? Is there no rule against using Pokémon from other regions?"

I asked, a little puzzled.

"Nope. No such rule. Plus, it's just you and me Ashy, so it's not like it would matter. You know my Electivire really well."

I looked at Vaporeon, who finally took her stance in the battlefield. She looked really tired and exhausted from the previous battle. It would probably be best to switch her out.

"Vaporeon! I want you to return! Electric-attacks have an advantage on you!"

She looked at me and frowned sadly. "Vaporee..."

It seemed that Vaporeon wanted to keep on battling. She did really well in the previous battle, so it may have hurt her pride if she didn't battle this one too. I didn't want her to be in any critical danger though.

"Are you sure you wanna fight? You might take lots of damage! You should rest up first, buddy."

"Vaporee..."

Vaporeon pleaded me to stay in the battle. Her cerulean eyes grew shiny and she pouted like a child, desperate to charm me out. I could never ever resist her cute face.

"Okay then, buddy. Go do your best once more!"

The Pokémon Researcher took my remark as a sign to start the match once and for all.

"Okay, Electivire, start this battle with your Iron Tail!"

"Vaporeon! Counter it with an Ice Beam!"

"Vaporeee!" Vaporeon purred.

"Electivii!" The electric-type began to race towards Vaporeon and swung his glowing tail as hard as he could.

Vaporeon was exhausted - there was no way she could win this battle. She was working her hardest though - I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Poreeee!" Vaporeon whimpered as she got hit by Electivire's Iron Tail. With Electivire up close, she resiliently got back up and fired an Ice Beam at her opponent, scoring a direct hit.

Both Electivire and Vaporeon were down on the ground, tired from their recent hits. Vaporeon looked awful - I couldn't stand watching her so weak!

"Vaporeon, are you okay?"

"Ree! Ree!"

"Electivire, now's your chance! Thunderbolt!" Gary commanded the monkey-like Pokémon.

Electivire was charging up its electricity - ready for a powerful attack. I needed to do something!

"Okay, Vaporeon! Do your best! Leap up behind him and use Hydro Pump!"

Vaporeon glided up in the air - not as agile as she should have been, but she got to where she was.

"Electivire! Behind you!"

Just before my Pokémon could unleash her Hydro Pump, Electivire defended himself with the Thunderbolt he originally had to do. Vaporeon fainted afterwards, her energy overexerted.

"Vaporeon! Buddy!" I ran to her frail body and held her against me.

"Vaporeeee-ree..."

"You did well, Vaporeon, have a rest now." I said, returning the mermaid-Pokémon to her Pokéball.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Gary was really concerned with Vaporeon's loss. He even ran up to me and tried to reassure me by patting my shoulder. "Ash, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go so ha-"

I interrupted the older boy by saying, "Hey, it's a battle, Gary. She just needs to rest."

"Hehhh, right... Sorry..." He replied uneasily.

What was up with the older boy and his so called _'concern'_ for me? It was really weirding me out. Did he think I was so pathetic that I couldn't win this battle and if I lost I would break down and cry like a baby? No way! I had to show him who's boss!

I stood up, taking my stance in my side of the battlefield and shrugged him off a little too rudely. "I haven't lost yet, Gary-Berry! Don't go all soft on me!" I shouted at him.

_Gary-Berry._ I didn't know how I thought of that. Hah! Now I had a nickname for _big mean Gary!_ That would get him so riled up, I just knew it. It would stop him from going all soft on me and serve as revenge after calling me Ashy-boy _for years!_

"GARY-BERRY? Whatt?" The emerald-eyed boy questioned, his eyebrows furrowed to achieve a confused look.

"Yep. That's right. Garyyyy-Berryyyy! I'm not a baby, if that's what you think! So are we gonna battle or not? !" I pouted and teased him. It was then that I knew how he must have felt, calling me Ashy-boy all the time.

Gary looked red in the face. He didn't look angry, more like, embarrassed of what I just said. _That wasn't something you saw everyday! X mark's hit the spot! Haha!_

"Fine, _Ashy-love!_ I'll battle you with all my berry might!" He countered, returning to his original battle stance.

ASHY-LOVE? That was worse than Ashy-boy! Fine! Two could play it that way...

"Grr! Why you! Charizard, go! Knock the smirk off Gary-Berry's face!"

My fire-type buddy appeared before the both of us, roaring magnificently like a strong gust of wind.

My Charizard was very powerful. Even Gary should have known that. This battle was gonna be my victory!

"Electivire, pal! His wittle mittle baby Charizard is all yours! Thunder Attack now!"

From the really awful phrasing, the chocolate-haired boy's electric type wasn't exactly sure whether or not that was a legitimate command, so he stood there just looking at his trainer in a daze.

Charizard however was not pleased at all. Noone should ever call my fire dragon a baby! Especially not Gary!

Without me telling him what to do, Charizard flew towards Electivire lifted the him up into the air. Seismic Toss! My Charizard was definitely highly-trained.

Minutes after the attack, Electivire came crashing to the ground. His dazed and dizzy state indicated that he was unable to battle any longer.

I was extremely proud of my Charizard. That win was just too easy.

"Nice going Charizard! Way to show Gary-Berry who's boss! Nobody calls you a baby, ever, right pal?" I congratulated my buddy Pokémon. He in return gave me a toothy smile and winked one of its blue eyes at me.

"Chaaaaaaar!"

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

It was the third and final match for me; if Charizard won this match, then I would have officially defeated Gary again and I could finally earn my Earth badge! One more step closer to finding what I was looking for.

Gary made a face that didn't look like he knew how the battle was going to end. _It was going to end with me victorious and him, the loser! That's what! He just had to accept it; I was so much better than him. He even said so himself!_

"Now you're going to see my best, Ashy-love! Blastoise! Do me good!"

I knew it was going to be Blastoise. It was his starter Pokémon - a pal he'd been with forever like Pikachu and I. He had the advantage type at that moment, but Charizard was definitely going to win. He did it before, so he can do it AGAIN._ I was sure of it._

"Charizard, start with a Flamethrower!"

"Blastoise, counter it with Water Gun!"

That was a really stupid attack from me. I should have known better that the flames Charizard fired out would be immediately doused with the water that Blastoise released. The battle was not over yet, however.

Blastoise was a heavy Pokémon, so his speed was not very good. _I needed to tell Charizard to attack from the air._

"Blastoise! Hydro Cannon! Aim for your opponent!"

"Charizard, fly up high! Use Smokescreen from above and approach Blastoise from the back!"

Hearing what I said, Charizard rose, emitting an abundant amount of black smoke in the air. He was going to be harder to track in such thick smoke. Great advantage for me.

I'd been training Charizard to be able to see in his own Smokescreen for a long time, so even I could see exactly what was going on.

"Blastoise! You heard what he said! Use your ears to find Charizard and Hydro Cannon behind you!"

Charizard was not a stupid Pokémon. It knew what I meant by _"approach Blastoise from the back"_. I would obviously never say my strategy out loud.

With the turtle Pokémon's guard down, Charizard scored a direct hit with another one of his powerful moves - Fire Blast. The water-type was firing a jet of water from behind him and did not notice that Charizard was actually in front of him. Blastoise was thrown off balance - he tripped over and fell to the ground, making a crashing noise and an earthquake-like shake could be felt around the the battlefield.

"Blastoise? Are you alright?" asked the emerald-eyed boy with concern in his voice tone.

"Toise!" His Pokémon writhed in pain.

"Alright, use Hydro Pump on the air to get rid of the smoke! Afterwards, aim for Charizard, pal! If in doubt, use Withdraw to boost your defense!"

"Toise!" The turtle Pokémon stood up resiliently, initiating the attacks he was set to do.

The smokescreen was unfortunately turned into acid rain as Hydro Pump rained down on it.

"Charizard, dodge those water jets and use Seismic Toss, now!"

"Chaaaaaar!"

"Hydro Pump as Charizard approaches!"

A jet of water knocked Charizard off-balance, but he continue flying and dodging his opponent's attacks.

My fire-type was already close to Blastoise when the Pokémon Researcher commanded his Pokémon yet again. "Now Blastoise, jump and use Skull Bash!"

Skull Bash unfortunately hit my fire dragon down to the ground, and it was used pretty close too so Charizard definitely took a great deal of damage.

"While he's weak. Use Hydro Cannon!"

"Charizard, counter it with your Fire Blast!"

The two attacks clashed together forming another cloud of smoke around the gym._ This was like dé-jà-vu from the Silver Conference!_

"Gooo Charizard!"

Blastoise was too slow to notice that Charizard used his Fire Blast to draw his opponent's attention away from his presence behind him. It was then that my fire-type used the Seismic Toss that was interrupted earlier. Even with Blastoise using Withdraw, I didn't think the water Pokémon could stand after being thrown to the ground once more. And I guessed right, determining me as the champion of the battle. Charizard was flying around the neon-lit gym, roaring what I believed was a "_Hah, who's the baby now, Gary?"_ kind of call.

It was too easy a win for me.

Which was weird, seeing as how this was Gary that I was battling. _And he was supposed to be the best gym leader in Kanto! He wasn't that hard to defeat at all!_

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

"Congratulations Ashy. You've earned yourself an Earth Badge..." the brunette began, walking swiftly towards me after recalling his Blastoise back.

When he was finally standing in front of me, he extended his hands, taking my own and placing the badge I'd earned at the middle of my palm before closing it into a fist. The badge felt really warm; it was probably because Gary was just holding it. The brunette continued to look at me with those sparkly green eyes, smiling proudly at my achievement.

Pulling away from him, I teased the older boy.

"You went easy on me! Do you really think I'm that pathetic? Even after what you said about me being so AWESOME, I don't think you took me seriously enough! Brock and Misty fought me fair and square but you just let me win. You jerk!"

The chocolate-haired boy sighed quietly to himself. "Ash, you know I'd never do that. Plus, I've only started battling again a year ago. You have way more experience than me. So if it seemed that I was too easy to beat it may have been because you were too strong of an opponent to actually lose to me."

I furrowed my eyebrows questioningly at him. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

I scratched my head, a little flattered by his words. _How could I have doubted my own abilities?_

Staring at him for a moment, I tried to find some kind of smirk or lying expression hidden on his face from what he said to me. It was just weird; a nice Gary was almost impossible to comprehend. He'd always been such a jerk to me. He looked a little stressed the more I looked closely - he had eye bags that flawed his supposedly perfect face.

Had he not been sleeping right? Not that I cared - of course I didn't - but it looked like he needed a real good rest.

"Gary, you look really tired. If you're feeling sick and tired you should get some rest! You work too hard." I pointed out honestly, thinking out loud.

"Why so concerned, hmm, Ashy-love? I'm fine as I am now."

Scowling, I turned away from his snide remark. _The nerve of him~! He made it sound like it was wrong to care! Gosh!_

I didn't even notice that Pikachu and Eevee left the sidelines of the battlefield from when Vaporeon won her match until they both arrived in front of us, side by side. I guess the battle was too much of a commotion for them to take their well-deserved naptimes.

Pikachu jumped at me and made himself comfortable in my arms. I took it he was trying to congratulate me for the battle with his simple sign of affection.

"Thanks buddy."

"Pi! Pi-pikachu! Pika-chuu pika..." My yellow friend exclaimed, pointing to the door. He jumped back down and ran towards it, Eevee following close behind.

_That's right!_ Now that I've earned my eighth badge, I promised my Pokémon we'd go celebrate with some kind of buffet at a restaurant as a reward or some kind of break from battling so hard.

"Soo uuuh, Gary?"

"Hm?" He looked at me expectingly. He was previously just standing there, spacing out from the world, like he didn't even exist. _Earth to Gary_! I swear, he definitely needed some sleep. Stress could tamper with your everyday thoughts and actions.

Excusing myself, I spoke nonchalantly, "Well, I have to get back to the Pokémon Center now. Me and my buddies are gonna go celebrate or something. Thanks for the battle today. I hope you have a good day."

He looked at me with sad eyes, like he didn't want me to leave.

"Yeah... Okay..." He didn't move an inch as I began advancing towards the door, waving goodbye to the said Pokémon researcher and gym leader.

"Sleep some more Gary! I don't want anything else to happen to you! Come on, let's go Pikachu."

"Pi-pikachuu!"

As I was about to take my first step alongside my best buddy out the door, a strong hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me back gently.

"Wait, Ash!" The older boy pleaded, his hand still on my wrist, not wanting to let go.

"Gary?"

"Let's catch up. You know. Go out to have a vacation or something. You said it; I really need a break, and you're celebrating so you might want to reward yourself as well as your Pokémon with a vacation too right?"

_A vacation with Gary? A little peculiar but, I wouldn't pass off an offer to one! He was right - I did need a vacation, he did need more sleep, and we both needed to catch up with each other, seeing as how we were friends and all._

"I happen to have two tickets on my desk that Daisy gave me to the Sevii Islands. It's about a week long - the vacation - one day to visit each island I guess. The ferry there from Pallet Town is in two days and I've already packed... I don't really want the other ticket to go to waste." He continued.

I looked at my electric-type still standing next to the gym door for some reassurance. He was nodding at me excitedly.

"That sounds awesome! Sure! I'd love to go! But, I don't have much money... and where exactly are the Sevii Islands?"

Gary finally let go of my wrist to straighten his lab coat and hair just a bit. " It's okay, Ashy. Everything's on me, but just bring some money anyway and I'll pay it off. It's such an awesome place there, you know! "

"Really? Thanks! Well, I haven't ever been there."

"Well soon you would! Okay, I'll be off to Pallet Town in two days. I'll meet you at your house, alright? I just need to tidy up a few things here and there until I'm ready."

I smiled at him gleefully. Yeyy! A vacation! With the beach! And swimming! My Pokémon and I would love that! It was also a chance to catch up with my childhood rival - a chance to make finally things right between us, I guess. Although I opposed the thought of being with the jerk for an entire week I did want to become friends with him again. _He was my childhood best friend after all..._

"Sure! I'll pack my things at home tonight then. See you then!"

He waved at me more cheerfully than he looked when I said goodbye previously.

"Yeah, see you. Bye Ashy-love!"

And he still had the ability to tease me. Once a jerk, always a jerk.

"See you too, Gary-Berry!"

Before he had the chance to complain, I left the Viridian City Gym with Pikachu in my arms, happily contented with what had happened during the day. A vacation huh? I couldn't wait! Although it was with Gary, my longtime rival and childhood friend. _With Gary…_ I wished to myself that just this once, I hoped things would all be well. Hopefully we could nurture a new friendship, revive our old one and start over, _all over again._


	2. The Chance of a Lifetime

**Gutentag! ChiiRyeeBiee here :)**

**In dedication to my beautiful OTP and its ever-so-amazing shipping day which happens to be today, I bring you Chapter Two of Missing Piece. It's not perfect I tell you now, but I'll share anyway. Add to the fact that I am still not entirely confident about finishing this story, but ehh. I'll leave that to the future. Don't hate meeeee~**

**Do I even have to tell you that Ash and Gary are both boys and together in this story and not mine? Kinda did already... Oh well. I warn you for extreme narrativity. Just sayin'.**

**HAPPY PALLETSHIPPING DAAAAAAAY! And for those who are looking for another Palletshipping day fic (ish), I wrote another one especially for this day because I love Ash and Gary soooo verrrry much! :3 My profile is easily accessible ~.~**

**Kkk! Ima leave you to proceed...enjoy!**

* * *

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Chapter Two - The Chance of a Lifetime (Gary's Point of View)

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Ash actually said yes.

Ash actually said yes to my really weird proposal.

I feared that he would say no since he could have been busy with preparing for the Indigo Conference Tournament, and also because I knew he didn't like me very much and he wouldn't have wanted to be stuck with me for a whole week. Clearly he still disliked me but it was kind of acceptable, seeing as how I teased him myself. I hoped anyway, for the majority of my time with him, there wouldn't be any conflict between us.

Ever since our rivalry ended and we became _"friends" _again after the Silver Conference Tournament, I'd been waiting for a long time to talk and spend time with the raven-haired boy. I was always busy with my own career, and he was also busy in chasing his own dreams. I never really had a chance to talk things out with him, but now I could!

What we would talk about I didn't know yet. Maybe we could discuss about my research and his travels respectively; just catch up like how friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time would have done.

I was happy he said yes.

_And I wanted him to say yes._

I wanted to say I was sorry that I treated him the way I did in our childhood. I couldn't even remember well enough what caused me to be so mean to him. It was something along the lines of competition, I wasn't so sure. But soon I'd get to hang out with him and show him that I wasn't the jerk I used to be. I'd get to show him that I actually cared about him, not that he needed me to. I'd get to treat him like a best friend again; the best friend of mine that he used to be.

_I just wished everything between us would become the way it was again._

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Secretly I'd been keeping track of Ash's location around Kanto from Gramps, excited yet impatient for him to earn his seventh badge so he would come and battle me already.

Our battle was far from what I expected - I lost way easier than I thought I would have (and I did expect myself losing to him seeing as how he was better than me already) and Ash had grown a lot too. His raven hair was as straight as ever, and his chocolate eyes never lost their vibrant shade of brown. Ash was also a lot taller from when I last saw him but he was still shorter than me, and he still had some baby fat and those neat little whisker marks on his cheeks. He wore a different casual outfit - a blue and white top that contrasted his very black jeans - and of course, his usual favourite red and white hat. No matter how old he got, I still found him as cute as ever. He was still the same adorable Ashy to me.

I could have travelled to where Ash was in Kanto at the time but I was just too busy. He must have been busy too, and he most likely would not have wanted to see me. I also could have called him on his Poké Gear to ask him if we could just meet up when I had the time but I didn't really want to. Either I was afraid that he would refuse to meet me, or that I was too much of a prideful guy to call my childhood friend and ask if we could hang out. I was an idiot of course. I had to change my unwanted arrogant attitude if I really wanted Ash and I to become friends again.

Another reason I hadn't met up with him yet was because I also wanted to shock Ash a bit - he never would have expected me to become a gym leader, let alone the infamous Viridian City Gym Leader. It was so much easier to work closer to home. I wanted to be closer to the place that contained all my childhood memories; memories that were mostly about starting out my own Pokémon journey, and a few about Ash and I still being friends, of course.

Daisy was the one who planned the extravagant confetti-shower-sneak-up-behind-Ash welcome for me. She figured I wanted to make up with Ash that badly, so she spent hours upon hours getting all the confetti in the gym roof and tested if it looked nice enough. When I got the gym she also told me to paint it red and black, knowing that Ash would have liked it when he did visit, and he did.

Then she gave me those tickets to the Sevii Islands, hoping that I would invite him to a holiday so we could hang out. I really did appreciate her helping me to become friends with Ash again. She insisted it was no big deal; saying that she wanted me to _"finally be happy",_ whatever that meant. I was already happy. I had everything a guy could want: I was attractive (even I knew that!), I had two admirable careers, and I was well-known by everyone and anyone. Maybe I did want some company here and there, but overall, my life was awesome. I didn't need to be happier than I already was.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Like I promised Ash, I was to meet him in Pallet Town on the day the ferry was about to leave. I tidied up my lab and closed up the gym, leaving behind all my work and bringing nothing but a large purple knapsack for my clothes and things and my Pokémon with me. I took my leave by walking to Pallet Town, which was only an hour's journey away. I let Eevee walk beside me; the brown fluffy Pokémon smiling back at me. I could tell that she too was excited to go on a vacation. Plus, she'd get to hang out with Ash's Pikachu, her best friend. Lucky them. All I had to do now was to make Ash my best friend too. Then we'd all be together for a long time.

Looking around Route One as I walked, I could see the strong rays of the sun beating down strictly on the ground. The breeze felt warm and I could see a flock of Pidgey having playful fights in the sky as they flew. I always looked forward to the near end of the summer season. It was on the month of August, which was Ash's special birth month. Lucky for me, his birthday was in three days, which meant that I could throw a special celebration for him during our holiday. It just contributed even more to my make-up-and-become-best-friends-with-Ash-again plan.

When Eevee and I finally arrived in Pallet Town, we stopped by at my place to bid Daisy goodbye. She waved to me eagerly with an expression that read _'I want you to be happy, make the most of it'._ I swear, she worried about me too much. I was already seventeen for goodness sake. Still, Daisy was my older sister, and she loved me as much as I loved her.

Ash was already outside his house when I got there. He was sitting by the same evergreen tree in his front yard where he and I used to hang out at when we were small. Humbly petting his Pikachu, Ash smiled away easily like the happiest child on earth. I loved the way he smiled. Even from childhood, seeing him smile never ceased to make me happy. Ash was wearing his usual outfit, and he had a bright green trolley bag subjected beside him, also next to the tree.

Without hesitation Eevee sprinted towards my raven-haired friend and tackled him to the ground playfully. Pikachu squealed happily at Eevee's arrival and they went off to play somewhere close by. I walked up to Ash who was still on the ground and tried to help him up by holding my hand out for him to take. Ash smiled at me even more, happy to see me I guess, and happy to be off to a vacation.

"You excited?" I asked as he took my hand and stood up, straightening out the clothes that Eevee made creases on.

"Yeah. We're just on the ferry today right?" He replied, tilting his head to make himself look adorable.

He wasn't even trying to look cute. He just WAS. Typical move for such a hyperactive friend of mine. He always looked so happy and bright and positive. He had to; when you travelled, you met new friends, and new friends were always available to Ash. I wanted to be his special friend, his best friend - the friend he thought of the most and the friend he could always rely on.

I answered his question with a quick nod. "Tomorrow's when the real holiday starts. We're gonna be visiting every single island, each with their own special activities to do there. I swear it would be fun."

Beaming joyously at me, he took his trolley bag and started marching down the road. "Pikachu! Come on! We're gonna be going soon! You come too, Eevee!" He announced to our Pokémon friends, who were playing near a thick bush at the front garden.

It was then that Mrs Ketchum, Ash's mom, came out through the front door with Mr Mime right beside her.

"Are you leaving now, honey?" She inquired, trying to make sure. Mr Mime merely walked over to where Pikachu and Eevee were to give them a goodbye snack.

"Yup! I'll see you in a week, Mom! I'll be training close to home before the tournament starts so you won't miss me too much!" the younger boy confirmed gladly.

"Alright honey. Gary, dear, please take care of Ashy for me. I hope you boys have a safe and enjoyable trip." Mrs Ketchum requested, her hands clasped together in a pleading action.

"I most definitely will, Mrs Ketchum. Thank you. I hope you have a great week as well!" I formally responded.

"Boys! Call home every now and then, okay? I'll be waiting by the phone or if not, Mimey will be! Gary, call your sister or grandfather as often as you could too!"

"Yes, Mom!"

"Of course, Mrs. Ketchum."

She continued to smile at Ash and I, her wishes that we have fun genuine. The hazel-eyed boy continued to walk along the all-too-familiar dirt road out his house, Pikachu and Eevee rushing towards him to join in. I smiled one last time at Ash's mom before taking my leave towards the ferry dock with the ravenette and our Pokémon friends.

"Gary!" Mrs Ketchum called out to me again. Her tone of voice sounded insistent and desperate, like what she was about to say was important for me to remember.

"I hope you boys become really happy together. I give you my upmost blessings. Take care." After saying this she gestured to Mr Mime and both of them went back inside the house.

Happiness and blessings. She made it sound like Ash and I were getting married or something. We were just friends going out to a holiday! What was it with people saying that I wasn't happier than I already was? Uuugh, well whatever.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

I had no time for any more deep thinking since our ferry was bound to leave in an hour. Ash and I carried on walking to the Pallet Town ferry dock, silence present between us. It was kind of awkward; there we were - two friends who needed to catch up with life but had nothing to talk about. I really needed a good topic to discuss with him. I wanted to wait for the right moment to apologize to him for what I'd done in the past, and now was not the time to do it.

"So..." I began hesitatingly, "...how's your travelling been so far? Any interesting battles you want me to hear about?"

Ash shrugged weakly, thinking of a decent reply. "Good so far, really. As for my battles, well, you should have witnessed the battle I had against Sabrina! My Chansey totally won against her Alakazam!"

"You have a Chansey? Since when?"

"Oh, I got my Chansey from the Nurse Joy of Pewter City, just after I challenged Brock for the Boulder Badge. Her Chansey recently gave birth - weird I know - and the Happiny that hatched from the egg evolved into a Chansey before she knew it. She gave it to me since she thought it would be best if Chansey went travelling instead of going to medical school like the other Chanseys do."

I nodded my head in response. "I see..."

Strange... I wondered why Nurse Joy thought about wanting to send Ash's Chansey travelling with him? Most of the Chanseys I knew I went to medical school and there was no argument about it.

"Interesting story Ash. Do tell me how you got your Vaporeon."

He smiled cheesily, ready to tell me another story of his. I just loved listening to Ash's voice. It was definitely lower than before, but it was still soft and gentle, the sound of a soprano I guess. I didn't really understand why exactly all the little features my best friend suddenly became more noticeable. It explained just how little I knew about him, and how far apart we'd become in the last six years. I missed having a best friend; I knew that much. I definitely needed to know more about him, and get him to put his trust in me once more.

We arrived at the ferry dock minutes after Ash told me how he received his Vaporeon from the four Eevee brothers he ran into once again. Looking around, I saw a largely displayed digital clock in the middle of the dock. It was about one-fifteen, so we had forty-five minutes until the ferry would depart. Maybe it was wise to board the ferry as soon as possible.

Pikachu and Eevee looked a little tired from walking the distance, so both the ravenette and I picked them up and carried them on our shoulders. The younger boy decided to carry his trolley bag instead of dragging it along with him.

Soon after that we boarded the so called_ "SeaGallop Ferry",_ finding comfortable seats at the front deck since Ash wanted to see the water.

I've seen the SeaGallop Ferries before. They varied in size, depending on the amount of passengers they could carry to the Sevii Islands. The ferry we boarded was actually reasonably small - from walking around inside I would have guessed that it carried at least one hundred people. That was acceptable, seeing as how we were in the Pallet Town ferry dock and Pallet was a very quiet place. The ferry's white walls were gleaming in the light, and there were a few crowds here and there, trying to get to their seats.

"I'm so excited! You are too, aren't you, Pikachu?" My raven-haired friend exclaimed, dropping his bag on the ground as he plopped down in his seat comfortably. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Hey Gary, what time are we getting there? And you know how you said there were seven islands? Which one will we be staying at primarily?"

I sat beside him, putting my own knapsack down. Eevee remained still on my shoulder as I looked up at the azure sky, replicating the beautiful blue shades of the water. My brown fluffy Pokémon jumped down on my lap, snuggling against my right palm to slumber. Now was her naptime, I remember.

"The Sevii Islands are kind of far. They're between Kanto and Hoenn, so it would take about three or so hours to get there. By the time we arrive, it'll be five pm, so we'll just get some dinner and rest up in our hotel. According to our itinerary, we'll be staying in Boon Island's Paradise Inn. That's the second island by the way."

"Okay."

"Say, have you eaten lunch yet? I'm pretty sure there's a buffet inside, so we can eat up before the ferry leaves. That sound nice to you?" I suggested considerately.

"Sure thing! I can never pass off an offer of food! Let's go!" He dashed off quickly, Pikachu still with him. I picked Eevee up carefully and carried her with me deep inside the ferry, following Ash's natural instincts to find the buffet table.

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

The buffet was just as I expected - not crowded with people, but plentiful of food. There were cuisines from all over the world, and even though not many people were in this particular ferry, the SeaGallop Ferries always had a high quality nonetheless when it came to food service. I ate contentedly while Ash kept stuffing his face with every new meal he wanted to try. Eevee remained sleeping on my lap, and Pikachu helped the hazel-eyed boy finish their bountiful lunch. Some things, really never changed. Ash was still the _"always-hungry-bastard" _I used to know. I didn't really care. I liked him that way and wouldn't ever want him to change.

After eating, I got the Pikachu Trainer to talk more about his recent travels, specifically around Unova and his repeated Kanto journey. In the next several minutes of the ferry trip I listened to him talk about his victorious battles with Elesa in Nimbasa City, Drayden in Opelucid City and his rematch with Lieutenant Surge, the gym leader of Kanto's own Vermillion City. We didn't even notice the time until the speakers announced that we were nearing Boon Island in ten minutes. When I checked my wristwatch, it was four fifty-two. Such accurate timing. I stood up, ready to move out and carried my knapsack up again, careful not to wake my sleeping Pokémon.

Ash and I kind of struggled to get off the Seagallop Ferry. The supposedly few crowds grew in numbers as they pushed past each other to get to the exit. The hazel-eyed boy held Pikachu protectively, trolley bag in the other hand, and Eevee woke up in my arms, unamused. Gosh, those people were desperate. I always thought that the Sevii Islands would be less visited now that summer was nearly over. It turned out that the Sevii Islands were popular tourist spots all year around.

Boon Island was one of the large islands in the Sevii area. It was of a lush green colour, full of trees and flower gardens that the local people were fond of tending to. There weren't many rural houses or shops around, but Boon Island was famous for a few things - their five-star hotel Paradise Inn and their exciting-looking amusement park just at the top of the mountain. I hadn't visited the amusement park before but I was positive that Ash and I would definitely enjoy going there.

The crowds around us dissipated, with people going off to different directions, walking or renting bicycles to their respective destinations. Ash and I, along with our buddy Pokémon, continued walking out of the dock, aware that we were soon to approach a small village. There was a beach nearby as I could hear waves crashing down onto the grainy sand, and a tang of salt ghosted over the windy breeze.

Pikachu and Eevee wanted to play freely by themselves so Ash and I let them run ahead of us while I frantically read over the map I received along with our trip tickets and our itinerary. The ravenette was looking over my shoulder, wondering if he could be of any help.

"Looks like we're not far to Paradise Inn. It's just ahead of us apparently - approximately a ten minute walk. You can keep on walking right? We could probably take a rest if you're tired. And are you sure you don't need help with your bag? It looks heavy to me."

He shrugged uncomfortably, as if what I said didn't please him as much as I thought.

"I'm... good with walking. And I can carry my own bag..." He pouted, leaving me behind to put the map away.

"Alright then."

The hazel-eyed boy kept walking, his head so high up in the clouds that he completely missed the large pebble on the road. I grabbed his arm subconsciously so that he wouldn't trip over forwards.

"Geez, Ash. You're real clumsy, aren't you? You should really watch your way, you know. You can't expect me to save you at times like these."

The Pikachu Trainer scrambled away from my grip defensively, shrugging violently in the process."No one asked you to help me, you arrogant bastard! Sheesh! You could have just let me trip if it was SO much of an effort to help me. _Arrrgggh!"_

"Woah! Calm down Ashy! I was just concerned and I did it on impulse! You would have fallen over and hurt yourself, okay? No need to lash out..." I argued unhappily. He was being way too childish for something so small! I didn't do anything wrong! Did I?

"What is it with you, seriously? I'm not buying your whole _"nice façade"_ you know! I'm not a baby! I don't need to be fussed over; I'm sixteen years old for goodness sake! Do you want something from me, that's why you're being so nice?"

I just stood there, dumbfounded. Pikachu and Eevee, oblivious to what was happening, walked on along the smooth, cemented pathway.

Gosh, I didn't know why Ash was so mad about me being concerned about him. Was I really that mean to him before that the possibility of me being nice to him again was illogical? I didn't mean to baby him so much - I never got to do it in the past twelve years when our rivalry started. I was supposed to be the older one, the one to protect him. I was just caring about him, even in the tiniest way possible.

"Sorry..."

His infuriated expression softened; his face dropping sadly.

"Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden...?"

I sighed in defeat. Now was honestly the time to apologize, although it seemed too inappropriate."Because I want to be. We're friends remember? That's why we're on this holiday together! I just wanna be your friend again, Ash. I'm sorry...okay? "

I could tell he was inspecting my face to check if what I said was a lie. Why did he react so badly?

"Mm-sorry." He mumbled inaudibly, feeling a bit guilty for lashing out.

Ash was putting on that adorable-looking face again. Was it wrong to think that your best friend was so cute, especially when he was a guy and he happened to be at least sixteen years old? I hoped not. I decided to put my arm around his shoulder so I could walk much closer to him. Like friends did.

"It's okay."

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

Pikachu and Eevee were still in front of us, only they were a little bit too far. In a matter of minutes like I predicted, we arrived in front of a gigantic, sky-coloured building.

Paradise Inn was huge. There was a welcome sign high above us, in clichéd yellow cursived writing and an island for a background. I could see some pools just beside the inn, and it looked about five or six storeys high. LED lights also adorned the edges of the two-door entrance in front of us.

"Pikachu! Pikachu-pika!"

"Veeee! Ee-veee-eee!"

Our Pokémon friends were calling happily out to us, telling us to hurry up. I was still walking with my arm around Ash's shoulder, so we were walking rather slow.

The automatic glass doors opened for us as we approached the entrance. The first thought that came to my mind was,_ 'wow, what a building'_. Definitely five star. Lots of gold and silver panels it was almost blinding. There were soft looking maroon cushions and sofas in the waiting area. It looked to me like a really grand Pokémon Center.

The lady at the front desk had blonde hair and she was dressed in a blue uniform which made her look like a stewardess.

"Hi, how may I help you?" She voiced helpfully.

"Hi, we have a reservation for Gary Oak? Seven day stay?"

She was typing away in her computer, glancing at me with guilty eyes and back at her form of technology. Ughh, how bothersome. As professional as she looked, she could not hide the fact that she was checking me out. She was not my type at all, not that I had any particular type. Girls were never really a big part of my life and I didn't want them to be, _not today, not tomorrow, not ever._

"Oh yes, Mr. Oak, welcome! Your room is at Level 2, Room 141. Here are your keys, sir. Enjoy your Paradise stay!"

I took the keys with my right hand since my left arm was still around Ash. I pulled him even closer, causing the younger boy to squirm. He was so close, I could even smell his sweet cinnamon scent. Cinnamon huh? How unique.

Walking towards the elevator, the hazel-eyed boy embarrassingly pushed me away. He continued pulling that green trolley bag of his, which glided silently across the tiled floor.

I picked Pikachu and Eevee up beneath me, carrying them to let the two rest up from running. Pikachu climbed on my head and Eevee stayed in my arms, snoozing again.

"...What was that... all about..?" Ash muttered demandingly.

"What was what all about?"

"...you...being all...touchy-feely here and there...ugh."

"Nothing...You're just so cute, that's all." Typical Ash.

"You're a jerk, you know that? Sheesh, so much for trying to be my friend again!" He complained, walking into the opened elevator and pushing the _'two'_ button.

"So adorable..."

"Shut up. I hate you Gary." was all he could say as he walked out of the elevator, leaving me behind with our Pokémon friends.

Room 141 had a crimson door like that of my gym to begin with. I told Ash to grab the keys from my pocket to let us both inside. It wasn't that large, the room. Walking inside there was a small kitchen at the left hand side and a tiny refrigerator just next to it. The lounge had two red sofas and a flat screen television lined up diagonally from the wall corner. Red curtains draped down to cover the sliding door which led to a nice little balcony outside the room. The walls were of a beige colour and there was a nice air conditioner just above the television. To the right hand side there were two doors; I assumed one of them led to the bathroom while the other led to the bedroom.

Pikachu hopped off to make himself comfortable on one of the red sofas. Eevee heard him calling her, so she woke up and jumped off me as well. Ash and I walked over to one of the mysterious doors, trying to find the bedroom.

The bedroom was beautiful. More gold walls and red fabric. There were two separated single-sized beds in the middle of the room, both covered in a thick, scarlet duvet. My raven-haired friend dropped his trolley bag next to the left bed and let himself sink down into the soft mattress.

"Yeyy! I could sleep now!" He commented, snuggling into the red sheets. He was so cute.

I dropped my own bag, opening it up to find a change of clothes.

"We have to eat dinner though. Wanna go out to the restaurant or just stay here and I'll call for pizza or something?"

He turned to me with a puppy face; his eyes moist and his bottom lip curled up.

"Let's go to the restaurant!"

**o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o**

"So, Ash. You're still chasing your dream huh, seeing as how you've repeated your journey again." I mentioned to him as we walked back to our room, full and contented. Ash was tarrying behind me since he ate at least five servings of barbecue roasted chicken, to no surprise.

"Mm-mmh." He shook his head no.

It was about seven thirty pm - the restaurant was highly busy and we didn't get to eat until after twenty minutes of waiting. We also chatted and rested after our meals since we ate a lot. Who wouldn't eat so much in a five star restaurant?

"I have a new goal, to be honest." He finally said as we approached our room door. Pikachu and Eevee were both sleeping on the sofa, cuddling each other adorably. Their food bowls were also half empty. I sighed, thinking to myself that they didn't finish their dinner again.

Ash and I both walked into our bedroom - tired, happy and wanting to sleep. For seven thirty, it was already dark outside. Now was a great time to rest up, even though it would have been considered too early to fall asleep.

"Really? Do tell me what it is."

Ash took a change of clothes and walked towards the bathroom to have a shower.

"I'll tell you later." He replied, leaving me in our bedroom to curiously wonder what his so called "new goal" could be.

I got ready for bed, pulling out my fluffy red bedsheets and giving in to the softness of my bed. When my head hit the pillows it was almost impossible to keep awake.

Ash returned after ten minutes, dressed in red and black woolen pyjamas with a Darkrai printed on it. His cinammon scent wafted around the bedroom, leaving me in a sort of daze. Ash's raven hair was wet and messy and I watched him get into his bed, mesmerized.

"You're so cute, Ash."

To this comment, he shot me a deadly-looking glare.

"I'm not cute! You know how sad it is for a guy to be called cute? It sounds lame! Hmmph, I'm not telling you my goal anymore. You won't take me seriously."

"Oh, come on, Ash. Don't be like that. I'm sorry."

"Nope. I'm not telling."

"I wanna know."

"Then don't call me cute! Ever!"

"Okay, okay fine. Just tell me, please?"

"Well," he began as he lied down on the same soft bed of his, "...I'm looking for something."

"Looking for something? Like what?"

He turned towards me, letting me gaze into those beautiful chocolate eyes. He was so cute. I didn't even know why I thought so or why he really was cute.

"Have you ever felt like you're missing something inside? Like, no matter what you do, there's always something that needs to be done first? Then you'd be happy?"

I thought about it for a while. "No, I don't think so Ash. I have everything I want, sadly. Everything except..."

"Except one thing, right?" He finished for me. "I don't know, I know I should be aiming to be a Pokémon Master but, I don't think I can if I don't find whatever's missing in my life. It's stupid. I don't even know what it is, and I'm trying to find it. I wanna be given some inner peace. It's been bothering me forever."

To be honest, I was gonna say I had everything except him. A best friend. Which was why I wanted to go through our make-up plan, so that I could be what they called _"complete"._

Was that what everyone like Daisy and Mrs Ketchum was trying to say? That I needed Ash to make me happy? I never really thought about it. I always considered myself a pretty happy person. Guess I could be happier if Ash was always right beside me. I probably sounded ridiculous, only realizing this now.

"Yeah, I understand. So you want me to help you find it, whatever IT is?" I offered.

"You're trying to baby me again. I can do it myself, but thank you."

Ash closed the lights, finally wanting to succumb to sleep.

"What are we doing tomorrow Gary?" He whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"Tomorrow? Oh, according to our itinerary, we'd be ferrying over to Floe Island - the fourth island - to drop off our Pokémon in the Pokémon Paradise Park. It's like a really upgraded version of a Pokémon Day Care Center. Our friends would really appreciate it if they had fun too. After all, we did want them to relax as well. The service there is great so we could leave them there for a majority of our stay."

"Sounds like a great plan. Pikachu and the others would love that."

"Yeah, and then afterwards we'll be back here in Boon Island. We'll be going to that awesome amusement park on the top of the mountain."

Ash squealed like a fangirl after hearing what I said.

"REALLY? Oh that's so cool! The last amusement park I visited was in Nimbasa with Elesa. I'm really excited!" He beamed in the dark. That was enough of a clue for me to realize how much he loved amusement parks.

After minutes of talking in the dark, we said our final goodbyes before hitting the hay.

"Goodnight, Gary."

"Goodnight, Ashy."

Today was an awesome day. I had to say that it was a chance of a lifetime to be with Ash as of the moment and become friends with him again. I'm glad that I took the chance to make things right once more.

As tired as I was, I couldn't fall asleep just yet. I couldn't stop thinking about Ash and my plan of action. What was I gonna do about his birthday preparations? How could I show to him that I care about him? Would he like me to get closer to him again? And then there was also his own goal. A missing piece huh? It sounded pretty deep and important. I wanted to help, but I knew Ash, and Ash could find it on his own. I knew he could, and he would, someday.


End file.
